Get Your Pet Sitting Service Listed In Multiple Locations on Google Places

Are you currently listed on Google Places (formerly called Google Maps). When you type in your keywords for your business in a google search the Google Places is the map that appears at the top of the listings with businesses shown to the right of the map. If you set up your business in Google maps some time ago – you entered your business info and the map application used your business address to know which maps to show you when clients do a google search. This works OK for brick and morter businesses but not so well for service providers like us pet sitters who do business with clients across several different cities. In my old listing I only appeared on the maps for my home city of Euless – but we also service about 5 other surrounding cities – and I could never work out the best way to get my business to show up on these other maps. I toyed with having multiple listings and using my sitters addressess in the other cities – but was kinda worried about whether this was really legal with Google. Well now you don’t have to worry – because Google has come up with an updated version of Google Maps – Google Places – and you now are able to specify a service area for your business using either the zip codes or city names that you service or the mile radius distance from your home that you are willing to travel. This is super as now your business can rank on multiple city maps - and clients can find you easier when they do a Google search for a pet sitter. My partner at the APSE (Association of Pet Sitting Excellence) put together a quick video that shows you exactly how to edit your Google Places profile to make the most of this new functionality. Josh made this video in response to a post I made in the APSE member forums during a discussion about the Google maps feature. Getting these helpful little tips and videos from someone who has so much knowledge about the web and search engine optimization is just one of the great little extras that we offer our members – above and beyond the great standard benefits. If you are interested in getting more of these super little tips that can open up a whole new world of clients for you come over and join us at the APSE today – to check out all the APSE member benefits click here.

Owning a pet business does not guarantee you success, but it is generally not difficult to set up your own pet business adn many who own pet businesses love the hard working lifestyle and the closeness to pets. You will have to compete with those who may be better trained, may have lower cost structures and those who “pretend” to have your skills and experience when they do not. (eg not all those who advertise themselves as groomers are actually Groomers).

There are also key skills that all dog industry professionals should possess. Here are some of the most critical skills and abilities for those hoping to work with dogs professionally: Basic Dog Handling and Training Skills, ability to recognize behavioral signals.

Animals can be somewhat unpredictable when they are under stress or in an unfamiliar environment, like when they visit the veterinary office or the grooming salon, so it is important to be attentive and stay aware of the animal you are handling at all times.